Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

Saturday, 28 May 2011 12:24

Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

Dear friends,

May 2011

Corruption is no new phenomenon in India, it has its roots firmly entrenched in the very fibre of the Indian system. It is common knowledge that the British robbed India blind during the two centuries that they ruled over the Raj which they used as a source of raw materials to feed rapid industrialisation back home in Europe and subsequently as a dumping ground for finished products produced from Europe. The British left India in 1942 and granted independence to a nation tired of suppression and abuse. It left matters of India to be dealt with by Indians. India thereupon set upon a journey of recovery and today has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

However, when one looks at the recent revelations of scams that have been in operation in the country and the amount of money that has been robbed from India, one has to wonder where India would be today had it not been for this siphoning off of public money. The fact that India figures as the top source of black money which is stashed overseas is indicative of the amount of money that is being secretly drained from the country.

This unmitigated robbery of public money led to the drafting of a Lokpal (Ombudsman) bill by Shanti Bhushan, retired Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, advocate Prashant Bhushan, former Chief Election Commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh in consultation with the leaders of the India Against Corruption movement and civil society. This bill proposes the institution of the office of Lokpal (Ombudsman) at the center and local Lokayukta at the state level and is designed to create an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal system that effectively deters corruption while providing effective protection to whistleblowers.

For 42 years, the government-drafted bill has failed to pass through the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but stalled in the Rajya Sabha. Subsequent Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008 but all failed to pass.

This prompted Anna Hazare a social activist from Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra to take up the cause. He single handedly took on the powers that be and announced that he would embark upon a fast unto death campaign till the Government of India passed the Lokpal Bill.

Receiving widespread support from all across the country, Anna Hazare forced the Government to sit up and listen. This he achieved within 98 hours of his fast unto death campaign.

Though one must applaud Anna Hazare, being from the North East, one can’t help drawing comparisons with Irom Sharmila Chanu a social activist from Manipur who has been on a fast unto death campaign since 2000. Therefore, this month, we have compared Anna Hazare’s movement with Irom Sharmila’s and ask, “Where is the difference?”